LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• LifeStance Health Group shares reached a new 52-week high after Barclays raised its price target from $13 to $15 and maintained an “overweight” rating. The stock traded as high as $13.27, while analysts’ consensus rating remained “Moderate Buy.”
• Recent operating results were stronger than expected: quarterly EPS was $0.06 versus the $0.03 consensus estimate, revenue reached $435.35 million, and sales increased 26.1% year over year.
• Insider selling remains a risk, with insiders selling roughly 14.7 million shares worth $155.5 million over the past three months, including substantial sales by TPG and the company’s chief technology officer.

LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $15.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. LifeStance Health Group traded as high as $13.27 and last traded at $13.00, with a volume of 5941430 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.62.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LFST. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of LifeStance Health Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of LifeStance Health Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of LifeStance Health Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Insider Transactions at LifeStance Health Group

In other news, CTO Vukasin Paunovich sold 42,067 shares of LifeStance Health Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.87, for a total value of $541,402.29. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 205,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,643,227.73. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Tpg Gp A, Llc sold 13,643,207 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.62, for a total transaction of $144,890,858.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 98,101,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,836,942.34. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,671,917 shares of company stock worth $155,493,415 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting LifeStance Health Group

Here are the key news stories impacting LifeStance Health Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $15 from $13 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying additional upside and providing the most direct positive catalyst for LFST. Barclays price target report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted LifeStance as a momentum stock, reflecting its strong recent share-price performance and improving operating results. The company’s latest reported revenue increased 26.1% year over year, while earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Zacks momentum stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains favorable, with LifeStance receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation. LifeStance consensus recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also included LFST among low-leverage stocks positioned to withstand inflation and higher oil-price concerns, highlighting the company’s relatively conservative balance sheet. Zacks low-leverage stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: LifeStance is facilitating a 22.25-million-share secondary offering priced at $12.35, but selling shareholders—not the company—will receive the proceeds. LFST plans to repurchase 2 million shares, partially offsetting the potential increase in trading supply. LifeStance secondary offering pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity has been heavily weighted toward selling, including large sales by TPG and company executives. Continued insider distribution could raise concerns about valuation after LFST’s sharp rally.
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported September short-interest figure is zero shares, unchanged from the prior period; because the data appears inconsistent, it offers little meaningful signal for investors.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,419 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 26,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in LifeStance Health Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in LifeStance Health Group by 12.7% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,732 shares of the company's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC increased its position in LifeStance Health Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 13,144 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. 85.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LifeStance Health Group Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 100.01 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $435.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.58 million. LifeStance Health Group had a return on equity of 3.39% and a net margin of 3.19%.The business's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that LifeStance Health Group, Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LifeStance Health Group Company Profile

LifeStance Health Group NASDAQ: LFST is a leading provider of outpatient mental health services in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a growing network of clinics that deliver integrated, patient-centered psychological and psychiatric care. LifeStance’s mission is to expand access to high-quality mental health treatment by combining evidence-based therapy modalities with personalized treatment plans.

The company’s service offerings include individual, family, and group psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, psychological assessment, and telehealth services.

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